CONTACT INFO

​​

​

MainTitleHeader

​Resource​s for Researching City of Dallas Photographs

SubTitleHeader

Pathfinder N​​umber 9

Page Content

The Dallas Municipal Archives holds more than a half-million images spread across many collections. This guide is intended to be a starting point for research and cannot be considered comprehensive. Where available, links are provided to collection guides for more detailed descriptions and inventories.

Hop-a-Bus, Dallas Transit System, ca. 1980. City Photographs

A growing number of images are available online through the Portal to Texas History, a collaborative digital library at the University of North Texas in Denton. The photographic series of the John F. Kennedy/Dallas Police Department Collection, historic photos of Love Field, and photographic surveys of the Trinity River are just a few examples of the City of Dallas collections to be found there.

The more recent “born digital” collections acquired by the Municipal Archives come directly from City departments. Beginning in 2005 through present, these photograph collections depict the day-to-day business and infrastructure of the City of Dallas.

Many collections in the Dallas Municipal Archives contain photographs or visual materials dating from the 1880s to the present and subjects include public works projects, City events, City sites and facilities, elected officials, and employees. While the Archives is an invaluable resource for images of former City of Dallas mayors, councilmembers, and employees, other individuals and historic figures not connected to Dallas city government are not likely to be found.

Only a handful of collections are all images, such as the City Photographer Collection. Many photographs are a part of larger manuscript collections and, if present, are indicated in a separate photograph series in each collection’s inventory and guide.

Looking for photographs of your home or business? The Dallas Municipal Archives has collections containing photos of residences and other buildings, though most of these photos were made for purposes other than documenting a structure. For example, many photos in the City Photographer Collection illustrate paving, sewer, water main construction, or code enforcement matters. Because houses and other buildings are rarely identified by street address, it is better to search by a neighborhood name or a nearby landmark, such as a City of Dallas park. Dallas Parks and adjoining neighborhoods are extensively documented in the Dallas Park Department Photograph Collection.

Photograph Collections Relating to All City of Dallas Departments

Collection 1999-003—City Photographer, 1950-1997

Five thousand black and white and color photographic negatives and prints documenting people, places, and events concerning Dallas city government. Although city government is the focus of this collection, photographs for neighborhood research include parks, recreation centers, and events held at specific sites around Dallas. A second series of evidential photographs used for legal cases in Code Compliance 196-197, organized by street address, occasionally document building and block façades.

Photographs prior to 1950 by the City Photographer are located in the Texas/Dallas History & Archives division of the Dallas Public Library.

Collection 2006-005—Miguel Casanova Photographs, 1986-2001

Approximately 3,000 color photographic negatives and slides documenting people, places and events concerning Dallas city government, mostly used in City of Dallas publications and websites.

Collection 2000-002—Public Information Office Photographs, 1985-1999

Includes photographs of elected officials, department heads, and other City of Dallas staff.

Approximately 500 photographs of first-day evidence taken by the Police Department and related images associated with the investigation of the assassination and the murders of Officer J.D. Tippit and Lee Harvey Oswald.

Includes photographs of White Rock Lake and the Earl Hart family, who lived at the Lake. Hart was the superintendent of White Rock Lake from 1933 to 1943, and his wife Mary Jane McClure Hart operated the Sunset Inn.

Five hundred black and white photographic negatives and prints. Aerial photographs of the entire City of Dallas for use by the city’s Public Works and Planning Departments. Maps can be used to examine existing structures. Most maps are 1”-500’ scale. Aerial photographs can be used to document historically black neighborhoods and land changes over time. The 1930 set is entirely digitized; other years are available in negative form or hard copy.